Constructing COVID-19 Risk: Comparative Rhetorical Analysis of Risk Communication for People with Disabilities
Session Title
Additional Abstracts
College
College of Arts and Sciences
Department
English
Faculty Mentor
Chen Chen, Ph.D.
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the lives of millions of Americans, and communication has been and continues to be established between health experts and the public to explain the risks related to the virus. This project seeks to bring attention to how risk is inadequately constructed for people with disabilities and how their needs are not met by expert risk communication. A critical rhetorical analysis will be conducted on COVID-19 risk communication by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and on documentation created by the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF). This rhetorical analysis looks at how the language used constructs risk and motivates action with a particular focus on how people with disabilities are included and addressed in documentation and in resulting policy. The documents will additionally be viewed with a focus on how the language marginalizes and oppresses people with disabilities by pathologizing and emphasizing personal responsibility to implement such practices. This comparative analysis allows for a holistic view of the risks faced by people with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic and calls for inclusion of their narratives and experiences in expert construction of risk for people with disabilities in the future.
Honors Thesis Committee
Chen Chen, Ph.D.; Michael Lipscomb, Ph.D.; Casey Cothran, Ph.D.; Devon Ralston, Ph.D.
Course Assignment
HONR 451H - Lipscomb and ENGL 471 - Chen
Constructing COVID-19 Risk: Comparative Rhetorical Analysis of Risk Communication for People with Disabilities
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the lives of millions of Americans, and communication has been and continues to be established between health experts and the public to explain the risks related to the virus. This project seeks to bring attention to how risk is inadequately constructed for people with disabilities and how their needs are not met by expert risk communication. A critical rhetorical analysis will be conducted on COVID-19 risk communication by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and on documentation created by the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF). This rhetorical analysis looks at how the language used constructs risk and motivates action with a particular focus on how people with disabilities are included and addressed in documentation and in resulting policy. The documents will additionally be viewed with a focus on how the language marginalizes and oppresses people with disabilities by pathologizing and emphasizing personal responsibility to implement such practices. This comparative analysis allows for a holistic view of the risks faced by people with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic and calls for inclusion of their narratives and experiences in expert construction of risk for people with disabilities in the future.
